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Maybe you're a cursory reader of Video Static, who only occasionally drills down into the nitty gritty credits, and you 've been wondering, "What's a colorist?"

Who better to explain that Dave Hussey, a colorist with over 25 years experience and a resume that ranges from Michael Jackson "Black Or White" to Lady Gaga "Bad Romance," and literally thousands more. It's really not a stretch to say that if you've ever seen a music video, you've seen his work.

Dave was kind enought to talk about what he does, in addition to touching upon some of his recent favorites.

Director Rik Cordero status as one of the best underground hip-hop video directors is about to change. Not because he's lost the thread or fallen off, but because he's moving onto the next level with bigger jobs, bigger artists and new music video and commercial representation with Robin Frank Management.

Timothy Saccenti makes the kind of videos that — to borrow a phrase he is wont to use — are as rare as hens teeth. Sometimes ludicrously insane, sometimes whimsical, sometimes beautiful in both traditional and futuristic ways, the videos that Saccenti has directed are among the most unusual to hit the airwaves over the past year.

Don't let the name put you off. The creative duo of Alex Topaller and Dan Shapiro — aka Aggressive — is mostly just tenacious about pushing themselves and some overclocked hardware in order to create striking videos. And they're nice guys. But, Aggressive is a better name than Affable for a directing team, so you can't blame them for going with something a bit harder.

Director Josh Forbes is the kind of guy who uses an opportunity for self-aggrandizement like this to instead give shout-outs to other directors he respects and lots of the folks who have helped him create a whimsical and sensitive music video world full of lifesize puppets, spellbinding animation, homey production designs and a whole bunch of heart. In short, he's good people and a good director who's just now coming into his own.

Considering the man uses "Rage" as his nickname, it shouldn't be a surprise to hear that Dale Resteghini is one driven and determined director. Over just a few years he has directed over 300 videos — starting out with low budget heavy metal videos and then expanding to nearly every genre. All the hard work is translating into a big 2007 — especially in the rap world — with the huge hit Mims "This Is Why I'm Hot," Yung Berg "Sexy Lady" and the just-released Soulja Boy "Crank Dat" video.

Tony Petrossian is a music video director. Since the only name he drops in his Profile is Jean-Claude Van Damme — and it's a self-deprecating reference, no less —I figured it made sense to list some recent credits, just to frame his formative tales of filmmaking: